OCT  20  1916 

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Note 


At  a meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Coloni- 
zation Society,  held  at  the  Colonization  Building,  Washington,  D.  C., 
May  11,  1883,  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Addison,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Byron  Sunder- 
land, D.  D.,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  were  appointed  a Com- 
mittee to  prepare  a statement  of  the  facts,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
present  time,  of  the  long  pending  controversy  between  tbe  Govern- 
ments of  England  and  Liberia  touching  the  Northwestern  territory 
of  the  Republic  of  Liberia. 

At  a meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  held  June  8, 1883,  the 
Committee  charged  with  its  preparation  presented  and  read  the  accom- 
panying statement ; which,  at  a meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee 
held  February  1,  18S4,  was  ordered  to  be  printed  for  private  circu- 
lation. 


PRINTED  FOR  PRIVATE  CIRCULATION. 


ENGLAND  AND  LIBERIA. 


Africa  has  been  regarded,  until  the  present  generation, 
as  an  unimportant  continent.  Along  its  wonderful  extent 
of  coast  line  hut  few  stations,  towns,  or  colonies  were  found, 
and  no  thought,  until  in  recent  years,  of  communication 
with  the  vast  unreached  interior  was  entertained.  Now,  the 
attention  of  all  Europe  is  fixed  upon  it  to  develop  trade, 
advance  science,  introduce  civilization,  and  plant  Chris- 
tianity. 

Portugal,  in  her  ancient  claim  of  right  of  discovery, 
holds  the  Congo  and  Angola  districts,  and  proposes  to  an- 
nex Loango  and  control  the  outlet  of  the  Congo  river.  The 
French  tri-color  has  been  raised  at  Algiers  and  Madagas- 
car, on  the  Senegal  and  Gaboon,  and  in  other  places. 
England  possesses  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  seems  thor- 
oughly committed  to  the  policy  of  extending  her  already 
largely  acquired  territory  along  the  West  Coast.  Of  a 
movement  of  the  British  Government  in  this  same  direc- 
tion it  is  now  proposed  to  treat  historically. 

ORIGIN  OF  LIBERIA. 

The  American  Colonization  Society  was  founded  in 
Washington,  D.  C.,  December  21,  1816.  A Constitution 
was  adopted  December  28,  and  officers  elected  January  1, 
1817.  The  Society  has  strictly  confined  its  labors  as  de- 
clared in  Article  Second — “to  aid  the  colonization  of  Africa 
by  voluntary  colored  emigrants  from  the  United  States,  and 
to  promote  there  the  extension  of  Christianity  and  civiliza- 
tion.” The  first  colonists  left  New  York  February  6,  1820 ; 
but  it  was  not  until  December  15,  1821,  that  a treaty  was 
signed  with  the  native  proprietors  at  and  for  the  purchase 


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of  Cape  Mesurado,  now  the  city  of  Monrovia.  These  “ pio- 
neers” were  removed  there  from Sherbro Island — theirtem- 
porary  place  of  residence — and  the  American  flag  raised 
April  25,  1822. 

Tracts  of  land,  mostly  on  the  Coast,  were  bought  from 
time  to  time  from  the  kings  and  chiefs  of  the  country,  and 
emigrants  from  the  United  States  were  settled  upon  them 
by  the  Society.  These  settlements  or  colonies,  with  one 
exception,  were  formed  into  a Commonwealth,  the  Legis- 
lature of  which  began  its  first  session  August  30,  1839. 
The  people,  in  convention  assembled,  July  26,  1847,  con- 
stituted and  declared  themselves  “ a free,  sovereign,  and 
independent  State,  by  the  name  and  title  of  the  Republic 
of  Liberia.” 

From  this  time  forth  Liberia  ceased  to  be  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  and  Liberia  has 
since  solely  managed  all  her  affairs,  foreign  and  domestic. 

THIRTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  TO  BUY  TERRITORY. 

The  American  Colonization  Society  ceded  all  its  lands 
in  Africa  to  Liberia,  July  28, 1848,  subject  to  the  following 
provisions,  viz. : (1)  “ The  Government  of  Liberia  shall 
allow  to  emigrants  the  quantity  of  land  heretofore  allowed 
them  by  existing  regulations,  out  of  any  unoccupied  or  un- 
sold lands;  and  when  the  Government  sells  any  of  the 
public  lands,  every  alternate  lot,  or  farm,  or  section,  or 
square  mile  or  miles,  shall  be  left  unsold,  to  be  assigned  to 
emigrants.  (2)  The  Government  of  Liberia  shall  appro- 
priate at  least  ten  per  cent,  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of 
public  lands  to  school  or  educational  purposes.” 

The  Society,  with  a view  to  suppress  the  slave  trade 
and  secure  an  unbroken  and  respectable  line  of  sea  front- 
age, (say  from  the  San  Pedro  river  on  the  Southeast  to 
the  Shebar  river  on  the  Northwest,  a distance  of  some 
six  hundred  miles,)  with  good  natural  boundaries,  the 
Society  raised  upwards  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  the 


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purchase  of  a few  intervening  strips  of  the  coast  and  to 
especially  extend  the  line  beyond  Cape  Mount,  the  then 
boundary  on  the  Northwest.  Of  this  amount,  fifteen  per- 
sons generously  contributed  each  one  thousand  dollars, 
namely:  Messrs.  James  Boorman,  Charles  Brewer,  Her- 
man Camp,  R.  L.  Colt,  Stephen  Duncan,  Alvarez  Fisk, 
Francis  Gritiin,  David  Hunt,  James  Lenox,  John  Mur- 
dock, Anson  G.  Phelps,  James  Railey,  Solomon  Sturges, 
Miss  Waldo,  and  Daniel  Waldo.  Charles  McMicken  gave 
five  thousand  dollars  toward  acquiring  Gallinas,  a notori- 
ous slave  shipping  port.  This  fund  was  promptly  forwarded 
to  the  authorities  of  Liberia.  Additional  gifts  for  the  same 
purpose  were  sent  them  other  than  through  the  Society, 
among  which  was  one  thousand  dollars  by  John  Beveridge, 
of  New  A'ork.  Samuel  Gurney,  of  London,  subscribed  one 
thousand  guineas  to  President  Roberts,  conditional  upon 
its  being  applied  to  the  acquisition  of  Gallinas.  The  de- 
sire and  efforts  to  raise  the  money  to  buy  the  territory  just 
named  were  made  public  through  the  press.  Everything 
was  done  openly  and  with  the  approval,  so  far  as  known, 
of  all  parties  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  and  with  the 
favor  of  the  Governments  of  the  world. 

THE  NORTHWEST  COAST  LINE  PURCHASED. 

President  Roberts  frequently  reported  to  the  American 
Colonization  Society  his  movements  and  success  in  this 
behalf.  Under  date  of  Monrovia,  May  17, 1850,  he  wrote  : 

“I  have  just  returned  from  the  Windward  coast  and 
send  a hasty  note  to  say  that  we  have  at  length  succeeded 
in  securing  the  famed  territory  of  Gallinas  to  this  Govern- 
ment, including  all  the  territories  between  Cape  Mount  and 
Shebar,  excepting  a small  slip  of  about  five  miles  of 
coast  in  the  Killom  country,  which  will  soon  fall  into  our 
hands.  Had  I not  deemed  it  absolutely  important  to  se- 
cure the  Gallinas  to  prevent  the  revival  of  the  slave  trade 
there,  I wonid  not  have  paid  the  price  demanded.  The 
purchase  of  Gallinas  and  the  neighboring  tracts  cost  us 


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about  nine  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The  Chiefs 
were  aware  of  the  object  of  the  purchase  and  argued  stren- 
uously the  sacrifice,  as  they  consider  it,  they  must  make  in 
abandoning  forever  the  slave  trade,  and  demanded  a large 
sum  as  an  equivalent.” 

England’s  gifts  and  complaints. 

The  British  Government  was  not  only  the  first  to  ac- 
knowledge the  nationality  of  the  Republic  of  Liberia  and 
to  enter  into  treaty  relations  with  her,  but  it  encouraged 
and  strengthened  the  new  African  State  by  presenting  her 
with  the  armed  schooner  Lark,  followed  by  the  gift  of  the 
schooner  Quail  as  a nucleus  for  the  Liberian  Navy. 
But  England’s  policy  changed  and,  in  1860,  she  began  to 
call  in  question  Liberia’s  possession,  dominion,  and  sov- 
erignty  in  and  over  the  Mannah,  Solymah  and  Gallinas 
territories,  purchased  with  funds  raised,  as  already  stated, 
for  that  special  purpose.  This  denial  proceeded  not  be- 
cause England  claimed  that  region  for  herself  or  for  the 
Colony  of  Sierra  Leone  ; audit  so  weakened  the  prestige 
and  revenue  of  Liberia,  that  various  attempts  have  been 
made  on  her  part  to  bring  about  a recognition  of  her  rights 
in  the  matter. 


PRESIDENT  BENSON. 

The  first  of  these  efforts  at  settlement  was  made  by  Presi- 
dent Benson,  at  London,  in  the  summer  of  1862,  during 
repeated  conferences  with  the  British  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  resulting,  as  stated  in  President  Benson’s  succeed- 
ing Annual  Message,  in — 

“ Her  Majesty’s  Government  having  magnanimously  ac- 
knowledged the  just  claims  of  the  Government  of  Liberia 
to  the  territory  comprehended  between  the  San  Pedro  river 
on  the  Southeast,  to  the  river  Shebar  ou  the  Northwest,  with 
the  understanding,  however,  that  the  Northwest  boundary 
cannot  be  definitely  described  and  laid  down  until  a survey 
of  the  river  Jong,  and  ascertainment  shall  have  been 
thereby  made  whether  its  course  and  extent  interiorward 


tire  sufficient  to  give  us  a Northwestern  boundary  of  some 
sixty  miles  interionvard,  otherwise  a line,  as  you  will  see 
delineated  on  the  map  which  accompanied  the  dispatch  of 
July  5th,  from  the  Foreign  Office,  is  to  run  due  North  from 
its  head  to  complete  the  sixty  miles.” 

The  next  Annual  Message  of  President  Benson,  Decem- 
ber, 1863,  contains  the  following  : 

“I  regret  to  have  to  state  that  our  Northwest  boundary 
has  not  been  definitely  settled  with  Iler  Majesty’s  Govern- 
ment. This  1'act,  I am  sure,  was  as  little  expected  and  is  as 
much  regretted  by  you  as  by  me. 

“ I transmitted  to  the  Legislature,  at  the  last  session,  the 
correspondence  I had  with  Her  Majesty’s  Government  dur- 
ing my  visit  to  Europe  last  year,  which  fully  confirmed  all 
I stated  in  rav  message  in  regard  to  the  same. 

“The  conclusion  arrived  at  by  the  correspondence  was 
simply,  as  I understand,  that  on  my  return  home  a joint 
Commission  was  to  have  been  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  course  and  extent  of  the  river  Jong,  with 
a view  of  ascertaining  if  its  extent  was  sufficient  (60  miles) 
to  form  our  Northwest  boundary  ; if  not,  that  a line  should 
be  run  from  its  terminus  due  North,  so  as  to  complete  the 
sixty  miles.  In  a few  months  after  my  return  home,  I re- 
ceived a dispatch  from  Her  Majesty’s  Government,  through 
our  Consul  General  in  London,  to  the  effect  that  they  had 
learned  from  the  authorities  at  Sierra  Leone  since  I left 
that  the  natives  occupying  territory  we  claim  to  the  North- 
west, deny  our  claim,  and  consequently  we  have  no  right  to 
-exercise  political  jurisdiction  ; and  that  in  the  opinion  of 
the  authorities  at  Sierra  Leone,  for  the  Government  of  Li- 
beria to  ernplo}’  the  requisite  means  (by  force)  to  compel 
them  to  keep  faith  with  us  in  their  most  solemn  stipulations 
and  obligations  of  allegiance,  would  too  injuriously  affect 
the  commercial  interests  of  British  trade  in  that  section  of 
■country,  to  be  regarded  favorably  by  Her  Majesty’s  Gov- 
ernment. 

“The  British  Commissioners  arrived  in  April.  I ap- 
pointed the  Hons.  J.  J.  Roberts  and  J.  N.  Lewis  on  the  part 
of  the  Republic  of  Liberia.  The  instructions  of  the  British 
Commissioners,  and  consequently  their  proposals,  were  so 


8 


dissimilar  to  the  understanding  I had  had  in  England  with 
Her  Majesty’s  Government,  and  so  contrary  to  what  Libe- 
rians can  possibly  voluntarily  accede  to,  that  the  entire 
matter  remains  to-day  in  statu  quo.” 

PRESIDENT  ROYE. 

President  Roye,  in  his  Annual  Message,  December,  1870, 
mentions  having  had  two  interviews,  at  London,  during 
the  preceding  summer  with  Her  Majesty’s  Secretary  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  touching  Liberia’s  relations  with  Great 
Britain,  and  that  since  his  (President  Roye’s)  return  home 
“a  very  lengthy  dispatch  has  been  received  from  Earl 
Granville,  in  which  all  our  matters  of  difference  are  re- 
viewed in  an  amicable  manner;  and  his  Lordship  suggests 
that  two  Commissioners  be  appointed  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain  and  two  on  the  part  of  Liberia,  in  co-operation 
with  one  from  the  United  States  to  act  as  umpire,  to  in- 
vestigate the  validity  of  our  title  to  the  Northwestern  terri- 
tory claimed  by  the  Republic,  and  that  the  decision  arrived 
at  by  the  said  Commissioners  shall  be  final.” 

PRESIDENT  ROBERTS. 

In  his  Annual  Message,  December,  1873,  President  Rob- 
erts reports  his  visit  to  England  during  the  previous  year, 
and  says : 

“I  was  received  most  courteously  by  Earl  Granville, Her 
Majesty’s  principal  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs, 
and  discussed  with  his  Lordship  fully  and  freely  the  several 
international  subjects  with  which  I had  been  charged. 
With  me  the  immediate  settlement  of  the  question  relat- 
ing to  our  Northwest  boundary  formed  the  first  and  most 
important  consideration  ; and  this  I urged  upon  every 
ground  of  principle  and  justice  that  occurred  to  me.  But 
while  I have  reason  to  believe  that  Earl  Granville  was 
favorably  impressed  by  the  arguments  advanced  in  favor 
of  an  immediate  settlement  of  the  question,  his  Lordship 
informed  me  that  1 Her  iMajesty’s  Government  felt  hem 
selves  precluded  from  departing  from  the  arrangem  n 


9 


come  to  in  1870  for  settling  the  Liberian  Boundary  Ques- 
tion ’ ; and  that  ‘having  again  attentively  considered  the 
question.  Her  Majesty’s  Government  would  not  feel  them- 
selves justified  in  acquiescing  in  the  territorial  claims  put 
forward  by  Liberia  without  a preliminary  inquiry  into  the 
subject  on  the  coast.’ 

“This  Government  has  steadily  resisted  the  idea  of  al- 
lowing the  testimony  of  the  native  chiefs  to  lie  admitted  as 
evidence  against  the  validity  of  title  deeds  which  they 
themselves  or  their  predecessors  had  solemnly  executed. 
And  had  not  this  course  of  admitting  the  testimony  of  the 
Chiefs  been  insisted  upon  by  the  British  Commissioners  at 
the  Joint  Commission  which  met  in  1863,  for  the  purpose 
of  terminating  this  difficulty,  the  whole  question  would 
doubtlessly  have  been  satisfactorily  arranged  at  that  time.” 

REV.  DR.  BLYDEN. 

Rev.  Edward  W.  Blyden,  D.D.,  arrived  at  London,  Au- 
gust, 1877,  commissioned  as  special  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary bv  the  Government  of  Liberia,  to  adjust  finally  the 
Northwest  territorial  boundary  of  the  Republic,  and  the 
correspondence  on  the  subject  is  said  to  have  been  more 
extensive  than  any  that  preceded  it.  The  result  was  that 
Earl  Derby,  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  stated  that  he 
felt  obliged  to  adhere  to  the  proposals  already  communi- 
cated to  the  Liberian  authorities  hy  the  English  Govern- 
ment, and  that  he  would  take  immediate  steps  for  their 
execution. 

England’s  proposals. 

The  following  are  the  proposals  formulated  by  England 
in  1870 : 

“First.  That  the  British  Government,  while  agreeing  to 
recognize  the  actual  limits  of  the  Republic  as  comprising 
the  coast  line  between  Cape  Palmas  to  the  South  and  the 
South  bank  of  the  river  Sugaree  to  the  Northwest,  cannot 
admit,  without  further  inquiry,  the  claims  advanced  by 
Liberia  to  the  line  of  coast  Northward  of  this  boundary, 
lying  between  the  Sugaree  and  Shebar  rivers, 
o 


10 


Second.  As  some  of  the  Native  Chiefs  within  these  limits 
have  denied  the  alleged  cession  of  their  territories  to  Li- 
beria, and  repudiate  her  claims  to  them,  the,  British  Gov- 
ernment propose  that  a Joint  Commission, consisting  of  two 
British  and  two  Liberian  Commissioners,  shall  be  appointed 
to  investigate  on  the  spot  the  disputed  claims  of  Liberia, 
and  to  define  the  boundary  limits. 

Third.  The  Commissioners  shall  be  fully  empowered  to 
inquire  into  the  validity  of  the  title  deeds  that  the  Liberian 
Commissioners  may  produce  in  support  of  their  claims,  and 
entertain  all  and  every  evidence  to  the  contrary  that  the 
Native  Chiefs  or  other  claimants  may  desire  to  submit  to 
them. 

Fourth.  The  decision  of  the  Commissioners  to  be  con- 
sidered as  final  and  absolute,  and,  in  the  event  of  any  dis- 
agreement between  them,  the  points  in  dispute  shall  be 
left  to  the  arbitration  of  the  United  States,  who  shall,  it 
necessary,  be  invited  to  send  out  an  officer  to  the  Commis- 
sion. 

Fifth.  The  Commissioners  are  to  limit  their  inquiry 
strictly  to  the  question  of  the  boundary,  and  are  not  to  en- 
tertain any  other  subject  of  discussion.” 

COMMODORE  SIIUFELDT  APPOINTED  UMPIRE. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  British  Government,  while 
making  no  claim  to  the  disputed  territory,  assumes  a pro- 
tectorate over  the  Native  Kings  and  Chiefs,  and  on  their 
mere  denial  of  their  deeds  of  cession  requires  the  Libe- 
rians to  exhibit  and  maintain  their  titles.  The  Liberians, 
however,  had  no  alternative.  Too  weak  to  assert  their 
rights  by  force,  they  assented  to  the  foregoing  proposals, 
not  bj’  an  express  but  a tacit  acquiescence. 

The  arbitration  provided  for  in  the  fourth  article  was 
formally  accepted  by  the  United  States  Government, which 
thereby  became  a disinterested  party  to  the  compact,  and 
the  invitation  to  send  out  an  olficer  to  the  Commission 
was  responded  to  by  appointing  Commodore  R.  W.  Shu- 
feldt,  U.  S.  N. 


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MEETING  OF  TIIE  COMMISSION. 

The  Mixed  Commission, as  originated  and  prescribed  by 
England,  organized  at  Sierra  Leone  February  13,  1879, 
and  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  Solymah  April  1,  the  Brit- 
ish Commissioners  requesting  the  delay  to  obtain  addi- 
tional instructions  from  their  Government.  These  were 
Hon.  David  Hopkins,  Consul  at  Fernando  Po,  and  Hon. 
W.  W.  Streeten,  Chief  Justice  of  Sierra  Leone.  The  Li- 
beria Commissioners  were  Hon.  J.  W.  Worrell,  Senator 
from  Grand  Bassa  County,  and  Hon.  William  M.  Davis, 
Ex-Attorney  General  of  the  Republic. 

Commodore  Shufeldt  arrived  at  Sierra  Leone,  January 
15,  in  the  U.  S.  S.  “ Ticonderoga,”  which  left  Norfolk,  Va., 
December  7,  1878,  and  remained  on  the  coast,  part  of  the 
time  off  Solymah,  until  the  Commission  adjourned,  the 
British  Commissioners,  however,  refusing  to  allow  the 
Arbitrator  to  preside  at  the  sessions  of  the  Commission. 

THE  BRITISH  COMMISSIONERS  REFUSE  TO  SUBMIT. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Commission  are  thus  succinctly 
presented  in  a communication  dated  Monrovia,  May  2, 
1879,  by  Mr.  Davis,  one  of  the  Commissioners,  and  a man 
deservedly  held  in  high  esteem  for  ability,  integrity,  and 
honor : 

“ I returned  last  week  from  Solymah,  a place  about  fifteen 
miles  north  of  Cape  Mount,  where  the  Mixed  Commission 
on  the  Liberia  Northwest  Boundary  Question  met  accord- 
ing to  its  adjournment  in  February  last,  when  at  Sierra 
Leone.  We  began  our  labors  on  the  1st  of  April  and  con- 
tinued for  twenty-five  days.  There  were  six  pieces  of  ter- 
ritory to  which  Liberia  was  required,  by  the  British,  to 
prove  her  right  of  sovereignty  before  they  would  acknowl- 
edge our  claims,  and  the  investigation  began  with  the  ter- 
ritories of  Mann  ah  Rock,  Mannah,  and  Solymah. 

“After  some  twenty  days  spent  in  examining  witnesses 
as  to  the  validity  of  our  deeds,  the  right  of  the  Chiefs,  who 
signed  our  deeds,  to  convey,  and  as  to  the  boundaries  of 


12 


the  said  territories,  the  British  Commissioners  admitted 
the  validity  of  oar  deeds,  but  said  that  they  were  satisfied, 
from  the  testimony,  that  there  were  no  countries  known 
to  l he  natives  of  the  names  of  Mannah  Rock,  Manual), 
and  Solymab,  and  they  were  also  satisfied  that  the  Chiefs, 
who  had  signed  our  deeds,  had  no  right  to  cede  these  ter- 
ritories to  the  Liberians.  The  Liberian  Commissioners 
contended  that  we  had  fully  established  the  claim  of  Libe- 
ria to  these  territories,  and  had  clearly  defined  the  bound- 
aries of  each  tract  of  territory,  and  showed,  by  copies  of 
treaties  for  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade,  and  for  legit- 
imate trade,  made  by  Her  Majesty’s  Government  with  the 
same  Chiefs  who  signed  our  deeds,  which  treaties  were 
made  just  about  a year  before  our  deeds  of  cession,  that 
those  Chiefs  were,  at  that  time,  the  rulers  of  those  coun- 
tries; and  we  also  showed  by  oral  testimony  that  the  ces- 
sion was  made  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  ail  the 
Chiefs  and  Headmen  of  those  territories;  and  we  contended, 
as  there  was  a disputed  question  between  the  British  and 
Liberian  Commissioners  as  to  whether  or  not  the  claim  of 
Liberia  to  the  territories  had  been  sustained  and  proved, 
that  question  must  be  left  to  the  decision  of  Commodore 
Shufeldt,  the  American  Arbitrator. 

The  British  Commissioners  refused  to  submit  any  ques- 
to  the  arbitrator,  but  said  they  were  willing  to  ask  las  opin- 
ion on  the  matter,  with  the  reservation  that  Her  Majesty’s 
Government  should  not  be  bound  by  that  opinion,  unless 
it  chose  to  be  bound.  The  Liberian  Commissioners  re- 
plied that  they  could  not  agree  to  that  proposal,  for  it  was 
contrary  to  the  draft  proposals  of  1870,  made  between  the 
British  and  Liberian  Governments,  on  which  this  Mixed 
Commission  was  based,  and  was  also  contrary  to  the  in- 
structions given  to  the  Liberian  and  British  Commissioners, 
by  which  they  are  instructed  to  submit  all  disputed  ques- 
tions to  the  Arbitrator  for  bis  decision  ; and  they  also  said 
that  the  proposal  of  the  British  Commissioners  to  ask  the 
opinion  of  the  Arbitrator,  with  such  reservation,  was  an  in- 
sult to  the  United  States,  and  they,  the  Liberian  Commis- 
sioners, would  not  consent  to  be  a party  to  such  an  insult. 
They  said  that  as  the  British  Commissioners  refused  to  sub- 
mit anything  to  the  Arbitrator,  it  was  useless  to  continue 
the  investigation,  and  they  proposed  that  the  Arbitrator  be 
informed  that  the  Mixed  Commission  had  reached  a stage 


13 


where  they  could  proceed  no  further,  and  that  lie  would  he 
furnished  with  an  authentic  copy  of  the  proceedings.  The 
British  Commissioners  agreed  to  this,  and  so  the  Arbitrator 
was  furnished  with  a complete  record  of  the  proceedings, 
signed  by  all  the  Commissioners — which  I hope  he  will  lay 
before  his  Government,  that  they  may  see  with  what  cour- 
tesy the  English  have  treated  their  Arbitrator,  whom  they 
have  sent  out  here  at  a great  expense,  at  the  request  of  the 
British  Government.” 

The  Mixed  Commission  failed,  notwithstanding  the  ex- 
alted character  of  the  Government  and  the  person  of  the 
Arbitrator,  and  the  strict  impartiality  manifested  in  their 
conduct.  The  next  attempt  at  settlement  was  by  a British 
official  at  Monrovia,  acting  in  the  double  capacity  of 
Commissioner  and  Umpire,  attended  by  a Naval  force. 

EXGLISII  CLAIMS  FOR  DAMAGES. 

There  have  long  been  two  disputed  claims  of  British 
subjects  against  the  Liberian  Government.  One  was  that 
of  Mr.  John  M.  Harris,  residing  at  Solymab,  amounting  to 
some  £9,000  for  losses  alleged  to  have  been  sustained  by 
him  through  the  enforcement  of  the  revenue  laws  of  the 
Republic  at  various  periods  in  the  years  1860-1880;  and 
the  other  was  the  claims  of  three  Sierra  Leone  traders, 
amounting  to  £848  195.  8 d.  for  damages  alleged  to  have 
been  caused  by  the  destruction  of  their  property  in  the 
Mannah  country  in  1871,  during  a war  between  Liberia 
and  the  natives  of  that  region. 

ARRIVAL  OF  FOUR  BRITISH  MEN-OF-WAR. 

March  20,  1882,  A.  E.  Havelock,  Esq.,  Governor  of 
Sierra  Leone  and  British  Consul  to  Liberia,  arrived  at 
Monrovia  in  the  colonial  steam  yacht  “ Prince  of  Wales,” 
preceded  or  accompanied  by  the  British  war  vessels 
“Pioneer,”  “ Briton,”  “ Flirt,”  and  “ Algerine,”  and  pre- 
senting his  credentials  from  the  Foreign  Office,  London,  as 


14 


a commissioner  to  settle  the  Boundary  Question  and  the 
Harris  and  Mannah  country  claims.  The  President  of  Li- 
beria appointed  Rev.  Edward  W.  Blyden,  D.  D.,  and  Hon. 
William  M.  Davis  Commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  meet  him. 

Before  the  Commission  thus  formed  the  claims  above 
mentioned  were  introduced  by  Governor  Havelock,  and 
discussed  on  the  21st,  22d,  23d,  and  24th  of  March.  The 
Harris  claim  was  unanimously  rejected.  About  the  other 
claim,  however,  there  was  a difference  of  opinion,  the 
Liberian  Commissioners  denying  its  validity  altogether. 

Governor  Havelock  then  demanded  the  cession  of  the 
Northwest  territory  of  Liberia,  the  boundary  of  the  Repub- 
lic to  be  fixed  at  Cape  Mount,  in  consideration  of  which  he 
was  empowered  by  his  Government  to  cancel  the  Mannah 
country  claim  he  had  just  presented;  otherwise,  he  was  to 
enforce  its  payment.  This  being  strenuously  objected 
to,  he  volunteered  to  recommend  to  his  Government  that 
the  Mannah  river  be  fixed  as  the  boundary  line,  if  the 
Liberian  Government  would  immediately  consent  to  it. 

DRAFT  CONVENTION  BY  GOVERNOR  HAVELOCK. 

The  Liberian  Commissioners  referred  these  conditions, 
penned  by  Consul  Havelock  in  the  form  of  a ‘e  Draft  Con- 
vention,” to  President  Gardner  and  his  Cabinet,  by  whom 
they  were  accepted,  subject  to  the  ratification  of  the  Senate 
ofLiberia,  the  President  promising  to  call  a meeting  at  an 
early  day  for  their  consideration. 

THE  SENATE  REJECTS  THE  PROPOSITION. 

The  Senate  met  in  special  session  April  10th,  and  on  the 
17th  the  members  waited  on  the  President,  and,  through 
Vice-President  Russell,  stated  their  unanimous  opinion  and 
advice,  that  the  President  i(  should  not  accept  the  proposi- 
tion of  her  Majesty’s  Government  fixing  the  Northwest 
Boundary  of  Liberia  at  the  Mannah  river  or  Cape  Mount; 


15 


nor  should  lie  sign  or  cause  to  be  signed  any  Convention  or 
Treaty  ceding  or  relinquishing  any  of  the  public  domain  of 
Liberia,  under  any  pretence  whatever.” 

THE  DRAFT  CONVENTION  AGAIN  REJECTED. 

Dispatches  were  received  by  the  Secretary  of  State  of 
Liberia  from  Governor  Havelock,  June  15th  and  Septem- 
ber 5th,  demanding  the  immediate  ratification  of  the 
“Draft  Convention”  prepared  by  him  in  March,  but  which 
was  not  signed  by  either  contracting  party. 

At  the  annual  session  of  the  Legislature,  which  began 
December  4,  1882,  the  “Havelock  Draft  Convention” 
having  been  considered,  it  was — 

“Resolved,  That  while  the  Senate  is  willing  to  yield  such 
territories  as  arbitration  may  decide  is  not  Liberia’s,  or 
even  to  agree  to  a fair  and  honorable  compromise  not  in 
violation  of  the  protocol  of  1870,  yet  it  decides  that  it  would 
be  unfaithful  to  its  high  trust  to  accept  of  terms  that  would 
sweep  away  every  one  of  those  territories  and  leave  us 
stript  of  our  rights  and  our  territories,  and  the  national 
treasury  imperilled  in  consequence.” 

THE  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERIA. 

In  the  organization  and  work  of  the  American  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  to  which  Liberia  owes  its  origin  and  existence, 
many  of  the  most  illustrious  of  the  public  men  of  the 
United  States  have  given  the  benefit  of  their  wise  counsels 
and  powerful  support.  Among  these,  not  to  mention  the 
living,  may  be  named  Messrs.  Bush  rod  Washington,  Madison, 
and  Clay,  Presidents  of  the  Society,  and  Messrs.  Harper, 
Marshall,  Frelinghuysen,  Webster,  Douglas,  Everett,  and 
Lincoln. 

President  Monroe,  by  his  enlightened  and  just  interpre- 
tation and  execution  of  the  act  of  March  3,  1819,  providing 
for  the  return  to  Africa  of  slaves  illegally  brought  into  this 
country  or  taken  at  sea  by  armed  vessels  of  the  United 
States,  furnished  the  means  by  which  the  work  of  the  So- 


16 


ciety  was  practically  begun.  The  Navy  Department,  bv 
liis  direction,  chartered  and  outfitted  the  ship  “Elizabeth,” 
giving  passage  in  her  to  an  agent  of  the  Government  and 
also  an  agent  of  the  Society,  and  to  eighty-six  colored  emi- 
grants from  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
York.  These,  the  “Pilgrim  Fathers”  of  Liberia,  em- 
barked at  New  York  city,  February  5,  1820,  the  U.  S.  ship 
Cyane  sailing  about  the  same  time  as  convoy  and  to  co- 
operate. 

VALUABLE  SERVICES  OF  TIIE  NAVY. 

Cape  Mesurado,  upon  which  has  grown  the  City  of  Mon- 
ravia  and  capital  of  Liberia,  was  purchased  from  the 
native  proprietors  December  15,  1821,  largely  by  the 
personal  bravery  and  intrepidity  of  Lieutenant,  afterwards 
Commodore,  Kobert  F.  Stockton,  who  was  sent  in  the  war 
ship  “Alligator”  to  explore  the  West  African  coast  and 
select  territory  for  a colony.  The  “ Shark,”  commanded 
by  Lieutenant,  latterly  known  as  Commodore,  Matthew 
C.  Perry,  and  the  “ John  Adams,”  “ Potomac,”  and 
other  national  vessels  followed,  rendering  valuable  services 
in  encouraging  and  protecting  the  Colonists.  And  the  Navy 
has  since  contributed  with  sword  and  pen  to  advance  the 
interests  of  the  Americo-Africans. 

RECAPTURED  AFRICANS. 

The  United  States  Government  has  made  Liberia  the  re- 
receptacle or  asylum  for  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
twenty-two  recaptured  Africans,  as  provided  for  in  the  Act 
of  March  3,  1819,  and  who  could  not  well  have  been  cared 
for  elsewhere. 

OUR  GOVERNMENT  BOUND  TO  RENDER  AID. 

In  the  treaty  of  October  21,  1862,  between  the  United 
States  and  Liberia,  it  is  stipulated  : “Article  8.  The  United 
States  Government  engages  never  to  interfere,  unless  so- 
licited by  the  Government  of  Liberia,  in  the  affairs  between 


17 


the  aboriginal  inhabitants  and  the  Government  of  the  Re- 
public of  Liberia,  in  the  jurisdiction  and  territories  of  the 
Republic.  Should  any  United  States  citizen  suffer  loss,  in 
person  or  property,  from  violence  by  the  aboriginal  inhab- 
itants, and  the  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Liberia 
should  not  be  able  to  bring  the  aggressors  to  justice,  the 
United  States  Government  engages,  a requisition  having 
first  been  made  therefor  by  the  Liberian  Government,  to 
lend  such  aid  as  may  be  required.” 

CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

Liberia  was,  from  the  first,  in  its  possessions  an  inde- 
pendent Colony,  acquired  by  “ certain  persons,  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  desirous  to  establish  themselves.”  In 
1843,  Liberia  took  upon  herself  the  exercise  of  national 
rights,  and,  among  them,  the  universally  acknowledged 
commercial  right  of  collecting  port  charges.  The  British 
Government  protested  against  the  right,  and  the  kindly 
intervention  of  the  United  States  Government  was  in- 
voked. In  the  correspondence  which  followed,  Mr.  Fox, 
British  Minister  at  Washington,  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of 
State:  ‘£  The  Liberians  show  a disposition  to  enlarge  very 
considerably  the  limits  of  their  territory;  assuming,  to  all 
appearances  quite  unjustifiably,  the  right  of  monopolizing 
the  trade  with  native  inhabitants  along  a considerable  line 
of  coast  where  the  trade  has  hitherto  been  free ; and  thus 
ignorantly  interfering  with  the  commerce,  interests,  and 
pursuits  of  British  subjects  in  that  quarter.” 

Secretary  Upshur  replied : 

“It  is  not  perceived  that  any  nation  can  have  just  rea- 
son to  complain  that  this  settlement  does  not  confine  itself 
to  the  limits  of  its  original  territory.  Its  very  existence 
requires  that  it  should  extend  those  limits.  Heretofore  this 
has  never  been  done  by  arms  so  far  as  I am  informed,  but 
always  by  fair  purchase  from  the  natives.  In  like  manner 
their  treaties  with  the  native  princes,  whether  of  trade  or 


18 


otherwise,  ought  to  be  respected.  It  is  quite  certain  that 
their  influence  in  civilizing  and  Christianizing  Africa,  in 
suppressing  the  slave  trade,  and  in  ameliorating  the  condi- 
tion of  African  slaves,  will  be  worth  very  little  if  they 
should  be  restrained  at  this  time,  in  any  one  of  these  par- 
ticulars. Full  justice,  it  is  hoped,  may  be  done  to  England, 
without  denying  to  Liberia  powers  so  necessary  to  the 
safety,  prosperity,  and  the  utility  of  that  settlement  as  a 
philanthropic  establishment.  They  are  themselves  nearly 
powerless;  they  must  rely,  for  the  protection  of  their  own 
rights,  on  the  justice  and  sympathy  of  other  Powers 

“ It  is  due  to  Her  Majesty’s  Government  that  I should 
inform  you  that  this  Government  regards  this  interesting 
settlement  as  occupying  a peculiar  position  and  as  possess- 
ing peculiar  claims  to  the  friendly  consideration  of  all 
Christian  Powers;  that  the  Government  will  at  all  times 
be  prepared  to  interpose  its  good  offices  to  prevent  any  en- 
croachment by  the  colony  upon  any  just  right  of  any  na- 
tion, and  that  it  would  be  very  unwilling  to  see  it  despoiled 
of  its  territory,  rightfully  acquired,  or  improperly  restrained 
in  the  exercise  of  its  necessary  rtghts  and  powers  as  an  in- 
dependent settlement.” 

RUMOR  OF  A FRENCH  PROTECTORATE. 

In  1879,  on  receiving  information  that  there  had  been 
“ offered  to  the  Liberian  Government  the  protection  of  that 
of  France,”  the  following  dispatch  was  sent  from  the  De- 
partment of  State  to  the  American  Minister  at  Paris: 

“ When  it  is  considered  that  this  Government  founded 
and  fostered  the  nucleus  of  native  representative  govern- 
ment on  the  African  shores,  and  that  Liberia,  so  created, 
affords  a field  of  emigration  and  enterprise  for  the  lately 
emancipated  Africans  of  this  country,  who  have  not  been 
slow  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity,  it  is  believed 
that  this  Government  must  feel  a peculiar  interest  in  any 
apparent  movement  to  divert  the  independent  political  life 
of  Liberia  for  the  aggrandizement  of  a great  Continental 
Power  which  already  has  a foothold  of  actual  trading  pos- 
session on  the  neighboring  coast. 

“ You  are  doubtless  aware  that  the  policy  of  the  adjacent 
British  settlement  of  Sierra  Leone  has  of  late  years  been 


19 


one  of  encroachment,  if  not  of  positive  unfriendliness 
toward  Liberia,  and  it  may  prove  that  the  policy  of  France 
in  this  matter  may  be  merely  antagonistic  to  British  en- 
croachment, and  designed  rather  to  aid  that  feeble  Repub- 
lic to  maintain  its  independent  status,  with  development  of 
trade  with  France  and  French  possessions,  than  to  merge 
Liberia  in  the  outlying  system  of  that  country.  If  so,  it  is 
desirable  at  least  that  the  United  States  should  be  cogni- 
zant of  the  true  tendency  of  the  movement.  You  are, 
therefore,  instructed  to  make  such  judicious  and  contiden- 
tial  inquiries  as  shall,  without  communicating  undue  im- 
portance to  the  matter,  put  you  in  possession  of  the  facts. 
Your  report  thereon  is  awaited  with  interest.” 

THE  GOVERNMENT’S  GOOD  OFFICES  INVOKED. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society,  January  21,  1880,  a com- 
mittee of  three  was  appointed,  on  the  recommendation  of 
the  standing  Committee  on  Foreign  Delations,  “ to  wait  on 
the  Secretary  of  State  and  inform  him  in  relation  to  the  mat- 
ters in  dispute  between  the  Governments  of  Great  Britain 
and  Liberia  with  respect  to  the  Northwest  Boundary  of  the 
Liberian  Republic.” 

The  special  committee,  of  which  Hon.  John  IT.  B.  Latrobe, 
President  of  the  Society,  was  appointed  chairman,  in  an 
interview  with  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts,  Secretary  of  State, 
April  20,  1880,  presented  a written  paper,  giving  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  the  recent  arbitration  formulated  by 
the  British  Government  for  the  adjustment  of  the  boundary 
between  the  territory  of  Sierra  Leone  and  Liberia,  and  its 
failure,  and  suggesting  that  the  United  States  Government 
may  still  have  it  in  its  power  to  promote  the  settlement  of 
the  controversy  by  having  the  arbitration  carried  out  ac- 
cording to  its  tenor. 


DISPATCH  TO  LONDON. 

Two  years  later  England,  apparently  abandoning  the 
peaceful  adjustment  of  the  Boundary  Question  in  the  man- 


20 


ner  usually  pursued  among  independent  nations,  the  Com- 
mittee again  sought  the  kindly  intervention  of  the  Gov- 
ernment ot  the  United  States.  This  was  not  withheld  by 
the  present  able  and  judicious  Secretary  of  State,  Hon.  F. 
T.  Frelinghuysen ; and  an  elaborate  dispatch  was  sent  to 
London,  bearing  date  September  15,  1882,  in  which  it  is 
declared  that: 


“While  perfectly  unbiased  as  to  the  merits  of  the  points 
in  controversy,  the  President  and  Government  of  the 
United  States  cannot  but  feel  a deep  sympathy  for  the  Re- 
public of  Liberia,  due  as  much  to  the  early  relationship  be- 
tween them  as  to  the  weakness  of  a Commonwealth 
struggling  to  maintain  constitutional  principles  in  a strange 
and  barbarous  continent.  Established,  in  the  first  instance, 
at  the  suggestion  of  philanthropic  men,  and  aided  by  the 
resources  which  President  Monroe’s  interpretation  of  the 
statute  suppressing  the  slave  trade  enabled  him  to  afford,  in 
1821,  when  the  Elizabeth  sailed  with  the  first  company  of 
emigrant  colonists,  Liberia  has  grown  to  be  a Nation, 
recognized  by  all  the  world  as  one  of  the  family  of  nations, 
owing  a large  part  of  its  population  to  the  United  States, 
and  offering,  as  it  does,  a home  and  brighter  future  to 
many  thousands  of  necessitous  Americans  who  are  now 
awaiting  the  means  of  removal  thither  under  the  auspices 
of  the  benevolent  Society  which  has  so  much  aided  their  un- 
fortunate brethren  in  the  past.  Liberia  must  always  be  more 
closely  allied  in  feeling  to  the  United  States  than  to  any 
other  country,  and  to  the  United  States  it  naturally  appeals 
on  an  occasion  like  the  present. 

“And  while  the  United  States  would,  in  all  fairness  and 
impartiality,  be  the  first  to  recognize  the  right  of  others  to 
the  territory  in  dispute  between  Liberia  and  the  Native 
Chiefs,  if  the  alleged  cessions  be  found  invalid  ; yet,  if  her 
claims  thereto  prove  to  be  just,  the  United  States  could  not 
be  indifferent  to  the  curtailment  of  Liberia’s  line  of  sea 
coast  through  such  an  enforced  sale  as  would  seem  from 
what  has  already  been  said  to  be  inconvenient,  and  would 
view  with  positive  disfavor  the  compulsory  alienation  of 
territory  already  acknowledged  by  her  Majesty’s  Govern- 
ment to  be  the  rightful  property  of  Libeiia  without  a con- 
siderate opportunity  being  offered  to  that  Republic  to  make 


21 


good  in  other  ways,  according  to  its  ability  and  resources, 
whatever  money  claim  may  be  conclusively  adjudged  to 
be  due  to  British  claimants.” 

THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY  “ ANNEXED  ” BY  ENGLAND. 

The  well  known  and  intimate  relations  and  friendship 
existing  between  the  Governments  of  the  United  States 
and  Liberia,  and  the  kindly  offices  of  the  former  to  avert 
the  threatened  loss  of  territory  by  the  latter,  have  proved 
of  no  avail.  The  right  of  Liberia  to  the  West  African 
coast  from  Cape  Mount  to  the  Shebar  river,  acquired  by 
fair  and  open  purchase,  and  maintained  through  an  earnest 
and  protracted  struggle,  has  been  made  to  give  way  to  the 
might  of  England — the  weakest  Power  on  the  globe  is 
compelled  to  yield  to  the  strongest ! The  following  letter 
from  a leading  resident  of  Monrovia,  dated  March  30> 
1883,  contains  mention  of  the  official  notification  of  the 
transaction : 

‘‘By  the  mail  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  inst.  the  Gov- 
ernment received  a communication  from  the  Governor  of 
Sierra  Leone  announcing  that  Her  Majesty’s  Government 
has  formally  taken  possession  of  all  our  territory  north  of 
the  Mannah  river,  and  they  have  issued  a formal  procla- 
mation of  the  same.  They  also  demand  payment,  of  the 
forty  thousand  dollars  ($40,000)  which  Governor  Havelock 
decided  last  March  we  were  indebted  for  the  so-called 
Mannah  country  claims.  And  as  an  offset  to  that  demand 
they  say  they  would  allow  us  the  amount  ($4,075.12)  which 
appears  in  one  of  their  Blue  Books  as  having  been  paid  by  us 
for  those  territories  which  they  have  taken.  Thus  by  one 
stroke  of  the  Lion’s  paw  has  been  torn  from  us  all  that 
territory,  including  the  famous  Gallinas  slave-trading 
region,  for  the  purchase  of  which  the  friends  of  freedom 
in  America  and  in  England  contributed  so  largely.  The 
Governor  proposes,  if  we  are  willing,  to  enter  into  a 
treaty  with  us  recognizing  our  right  of  territory  from  the 
Mannah  river  southward,  and  to  form  regulations  as  to 
the  boundary.” 


22 


THE  PROCLAMATION. 

England  takes  the  territory  so  long  in  dispute,  and  which 
covers  a line  of  sea  coast  of  some  forty  miles,  by  cession 
direct  of  the  so-called  King  of  the  Gallinas  and  Chiefs  of 
the  neighboring  country,  in  an  “ agreement  ” concluded 
at  Solymah,  March  30,  1882,  with  Governor  Havelock, 
which  agreement  was  not  ratified  for  nearly  a year,  as  ap- 
pears by  the  Governor’s  Proclamation  of  March  19,  1883, 
conveying  “ Her  Majesty’s  confirmation  and  acceptance.” 

The  region  “ annexed”  is  described  as  bordering  on  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  and  extending  a “ distance  inland  of  half  a 
mile  from  high  water,”  and  intended  “ as  part  of  the  colony  of 
Sierra  Leone.”  The  consideration  is  an  annual  stipend  of 
£210,  distributed  among  fifteen  Native  Princes  and  Head- 
men in  sums  of  from  £5  to  £30,  payment  to  begin  at  once. 

A distinguished  Liberian  writes : ‘‘The  line  is  so  run 
that  although  the  territory  is  only  half  a mile  in  depth, 
it  cuts  off  all  the  remaining  territory  from  all  the  water- 
ways for  twenty  miles  from  the  sea,  so  that  owners  of 
territory  a hundred  miles  in  depth  cannot  have  excess  to 
the  sea  or  rivers,  although  they  may  be  within  half  a mile 
of  either.  This  is  done  to  force  a cession  of  the  remain- 
ing territory.” 

POPULATION  AND  MONEY  NEEDED. 

The  Republic  of  Liberia,  though  the  unquestioned  owner 
of  some  five  hundred  miles  of  coast  territory,  with  an  ex- 
tension inland  indefinitely,  is  poor,  and  needs  larger  num- 
bers and  to  have  its  industry  and  resources]developed  ; and, 
surrounded  as  it  is  by  heathen  tribes,  it  has  to  look  mainly, 
as  in  the  past,  for  encouragement  and  aid  from  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of  the  United  States. 

So  far  from  the  work  of  the  American  Colonization 
Society  having  ceased  or  passed  by,  it  never  made  a stronger 


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appeal  to  patriots,  Christians,  or  friends  of  human  freedom 
or  progress  than  it  does  at  this  time.  Its  field  was  never 
so  wide  and  its  promise  of  success  was  never  so  encourag- 
ing if  the  means  are  supplied  by  which  the  agencies  now  in 
successful  operation  can  be  kept  in  vigorous  action. 


